BEST PRACTICES when REQUESTING SERVICES from THE DESIGN GROUP

We have gotten a lot of requests for materials at the very last minute. Constantly fulfilling last minute design requests is not a sustainable way for our group to function. We are all busy people and want to do whatever we can for this movement, but please respect that we also have other obligations in our lives besides occupying. Below is a guideline to timing for different types of design requests (PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE TIMING GUIDELINES DO NOT INCLUDE PRINTING TIME). This is the minimum amount of time we generally need to fulfill requests, but we are always happy if you could give us even more advance notice than is outlined here.

FLYER: 2-3 day minimum
SIGNS, BANNERS, STICKERS: 3 days to a week min, depending on how many and how complicated the project (Please note that you will most likely need to raise your own FUNDING for the printing expense of these types of materials)
BOOKLETS, PAMPHLETS, MULTI-PAGE LITERATURE:4-5 day min, could take longer

LOGOS: 1 week minimum, could take longer

Other types of projects will be assessed on a case by case basis and we can let you know what sort of timing to expect.

Please note that these times are estimates. Depending on our workload and availability, some requests may take longer.

2) When producing text for a flyer KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

If you are organizing an event, there are TWO types of flyers that you might need, and they each speak to a different audience.

EVENT PROMO FLYER: You need this to promote your event.
Your audience for this flyer is activists and sympathizers. People most likely to attend are those who are already on your side or somewhat versed in the issues. You do not need to include a lot of language aimed at convincing people of your argument or reason for the event. A simple WHAT, WHERE, WHEN should suffice and possibly a very brief WHY or inspirational tagline.

EVENT ACTION FLYER: If your event is a DIRECT ACTION, you need this to hand out during the action to tell people what is going on, why you are there.
Your audience for this is different than a promotional flyer, it is your average person who will be passing by on the street wondering what the heck is going on. Try to explain the action and convince them of your reason for having it. Use factual information and bullet points, if you want to. Use convincing and inspirational language. Don’t use jargon or abbreviations.

3) Before submitting a design request FINALIZE YOUR TEXT

LESS IS MORE: Especially for EVENT PROMO FLYERS, keep the text of your flyer as concise as possible. Sentences very quickly look like paragraphs on a quarter-sheet or a half-sheet flyer. People will be less likely to read a flyer that is crammed with tiny type, so edit as much as possible, while still explaining your event.
SPELL IT OUT!Don’t abbreviate OWS, spell out Occupy Wall Street. Try not to use abbreviations or acronyms at all, even for a PROMO FLYER. Many sympathizers of the movement are not as entrenched in our language as those who have been at it for a while, so let’s not create barriers to their understanding and involvement.

WHAT CAN YOUR AUDIENCE DO NEXT? If you have produced a good flyer, your audience will want to get more involved and may need more information. Include a web address whenever possible, such as a link to the specific event on the NYCGA website. Use a web address shortener if your link is long. For an ACTION FLYER, it is good to include a CALL TO ACTION or next step that someone can take if they agree with your argument. This might be an invitation to join Occupy Wall Street along with the nycga.net address, or it might be a link to instructions on how you can move your money to credit union, or it might be a website where someone can sign an online petition, it all depends on the type of event you are organizing.

ONCE YOUR TEXT IS FINALIZED:

USE THE DESIGN REQUEST FORM: Please use the request form (located here) when submitting a design request. Even if someone in the design group is your best friend, use the form, don’t send the request via email to them personally. We’re sorry if this is impersonal, but it helps us keep all of our information in one place so that we can keep track of all of our active projects. Please complete all fields in the request form, as we cannot begin work on incomplete requests.
SUBMIT YOUR TEXT AS YOU WANT IT TO APPEAR! Don’t submit text like this: “Our event is on March 17th to celebrate the 6 month anniversary of Occupy and we will be meeting at Liberty Plaza at 2pm and marching to Wall Street”
Submit your text like this:

CELEBRATE SIX MONTHS OF OCCUPY WALL STREET!
March 17th, 2PM
MEET at Liberty Plaza (Broadway and Liberty Street)
MARCH to Wall Street
Let’s show Wall Street and the world that the people are STILL fed up with their BULL!

4) Get your materials PRINTED

The printing budget is handled by Outreach. The Design group can provide you with print ready designs, but getting your materials printed is up to you. DESIGN DOES NOT HANDLE PRINTING. Here is some information from Outreach regarding printing:

All printing requests must be made to print@nycga.net through a working group nycga.net email address. (If your group does not have a nycga.net email they can contact the Tech Ops working group.)

Please specify quantities and when you need your order by.

All submissions will be responded to within 24 hours.

A confirmation for pick up will be sent upon an order being fullfilled and received via our regular evening delivery to our storage space. There is a 4pm deadline for same day evening delivery of print orders. For special arrangements or pick ups, please specify in your email and provide a contact number.